


The Power of Touch

by Sarcasticles



Category: One Piece
Genre: Drabble Collection, Fluff, Gen, Nakamaship, characters to be added as they appear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-11-13 17:31:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 6,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11189940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarcasticles/pseuds/Sarcasticles
Summary: Luffy is a touchy-feely kind of guy. His crew...well, they'll get used to it eventually. Now with bonus chapters!





	1. Robin

At first Robin was afraid of it.

The closeness was palpable. She'd been on the seas long enough to know that a crew was a reflection of their captain, and Luffy thrived on touch. The gestures—surprise hugs, brushing arms at the table, a friendly nudge—seemed innocuous, innocent. Harmless, even.

Robin knew better. She'd never seen an act of kindness that wasn't a down payment on a blow. In her world touch was tantamount to violence, and she was more likely to snap bones than to offer a helping hand. The closer she became to them, physically and emotionally, the worse it would hurt when the inevitable betrayal came.

But while Robin was terrified of what they were doing to her, for the first time in twenty years the people she traveled with were not afraid of her. As much as she pretended she was above their antics, the love-starved, lonely eight year old girl in her craved what Luffy was offering.

She would never forget when he intertwined his fingers with hers, eagerly telling her that he'd found something super cool, and that she just _had_ to see, urging her to follow him. There was no indication that he hated her. No sign that he suspected her. Nothing that pointed to the fact he wanted to use her for her ability.

The last time Robin held anyone's hand was on the burning shores of Ohara, when she met her mother for the first and the last time. Instinctually she tightened her grip, and it was at that moment Robin knew there was no turning back.


	2. Usopp

At first Usopp didn't notice it.

All his life he'd been a bit of an outcast. Even before his mother's death he didn't have any friends his own age. He was just the boy who lived in the house on the hill. Even if there was someone willing to accept his pirate heritage there wasn't anyone close enough to justify going out to visit on a whim. Not with his mother so ill.

When Banchina died no one knew what do with him. He didn't have any close family, and while the village made sure he didn't starve, they didn't have time for a needy, attention-seeking boy. Kaya was the exception, but her own grief was too fresh for her to see the real meaning behind Usopp's lies.

More than just his captain, Luffy was his peer. His _friend_. He slapped Usopp on the back when he made an amazing shot and wasn't above horsing around in the name of good fun. They danced together, messed around together, got the crap kicked out of them by Nami together. Everything they did, they did it together.

Still, it took Usopp a long time to realize Luffy accepted him for who he was and not who he pretended to be. Almost too long, but when Luffy's arms wrapped around him and pulled him back to the Sunny, Usopp knew he was where he belonged.


	3. Zoro

At first Zoro didn't get it.

In a way it was understandable. Zoro had spent the majority of his life focused on one goal to the exclusion of anything else. He didn't think he was unfriendly, per say, but he didn't go out of his way to make them, either. Defeating Mihawk was the only thing that mattered. Everything else was extra. A distraction.

Which is why it took awhile for him to get used to traveling with Monkey D. Luffy. His new captain rarely trained and had no self-discipline. At first Luffy's freakish strength irritated him, and Zoro was at a loss to explain what drove him to increasingly-greater extremes to protect what he cared about. It was like his freeform, anything-goes-as-long-as-it-works fighting style bled into his everyday life. It was only slowly that Zoro realized just what his captain was fighting for.

There was trust in the nearness. Every fleeting touch, sitting side by side for no reason other than they could, the way Luffy wheeled and weaseled his way past Zoro's defenses…suddenly he didn't mind waking up from a nap with his captain draped across his lap or fighting off hordes of enemies with Luffy at his back. Alone they were strong, but together they were unstoppable.


	4. Nami

At first Nami didn't like it.

She didn't understand how Luffy could be simultaneously immune to her charms and yet completely willing to do whatever she wanted at the same time. Strictly speaking, _she_ was the one following _him_ as he wandered aimlessly around the East Blue, but despite calling himself captain, Luffy actually listened and valued what she had to say about their journey simply because he thought she was a friend. It was almost unnatural.

Nami was used to using her winning smile and— _ahem_ —feminine wiles to steal and trick and connive her way through life. Luffy was the logic-defying exception. He was so stupidly naïve, but so grounded in his convictions that Nami found himself drawn to his vision. She hated pirates, but found her liking the newly-formed Straw Hats.

Maybe she was taken because he was so guileless. When Luffy talked to Nami he looked at her eyes and not her chest, when he wrapped her in an impromptu hug it was completely innocent, and when she smacked him for overstepping his bounds he just laughed it off like it was no big deal. Because, to him, it wasn't.

And despite his monstrous strength, there was gentleness in the hand that stopped her from driving the knife into her shoulder. There was no grand scheme he was trying to trick her into when he put his hat on her head for safekeeping. It was just…Luffy being Luffy, telling Nami in his own Luffy-ish way that just like his hat was his precious treasure, so was she.


	5. Franky

At first Franky was surprised by it.

He didn't feel much these days. Being three-fourths metal tended to do that for a guy. Sure, getting shot stung and getting his nuts squeezed hurt, but there was no mistaking that Franky's sense of touch was dull compared to anyone who wasn't a cyborg.

He always had to be aware of his own strength for fear of accidently breaking something. Sometimes he did anyway, simply because he couldn't feel how hard he was pressing. It made trying to date kind of awkward, but that was okay. No one had ever been interested in him in _that_ way in longer than he cared to remember. Besides, Franky wasn't exactly on the lookout for romance, not when he was finally getting to live his dream.

No, Franky didn't think his lack of sensation made him any less super. But when Luffy jumped on his back for an impromptu piggy-back ride and he could _feel_ it? When he ohhed and ahhed Franky's various abilities when most recoiled in horror? When Franky didn't have to hold back when hi-fiving his captain, because he was rubber and blunt force couldn't hurt him anyway?

He wasn't crying, damn it, not at all. Luffy had just accidently poked him in the eye, and cyborg or no that was enough to make anyone tear up.

 


	6. Brook

At first Brook was overwhelmed by it.

He had spent fifty years alone, and even if he were ever able to leave the confines of the Florian Triangle Brook held no illusions about himself. He was a skeleton. A freak of nature even by the standards of the Grand Line. Barely even human

This realization was soul-crushing, especially since he loved nothing more than to bring people together through his music, but Brook endured. He would meet Laboon again no matter the cost. It was that promise that brought him back from the dead and what fueled his second life. He could stand the isolation, the ostracism, even the loss of his own shadow. For fifty long, lonely years he waited, hoped, _dreamed_ of the day he would be free, even knowing he would never be accepted by the world at large.

But Luffy, bless him, was not the world. He was undaunted by Brook's sharp, unforgiving bones as he pulled the musician into his adventure. The rest of the Straw Hats balked, but Luffy's conviction never wavered. He took Brook along and pointed out the breaking dawn that lay just over the horizon. He sparked a fire somewhere within his ribcage, rekindling the dream that was nearly smothered by the fog of Thriller Bark. His acceptance was humbling, and Brook found his music expressed more joy and happiness than it had for half a century.

Brook had lived for fifty years, but it wasn't until he met Straw Hat Luffy that he felt truly alive.


	7. Chopper

At first Chopper couldn't believe it.

Humans and reindeer were both social animals, and perhaps that was why out of all the Straw Hats, Chopper felt the sting of rejection most keenly. The sensitive nature that served him well as a doctor was very much a two-edged sword. He was idealistic and young enough that he hadn't built the walls around his heart that made the hurt of being hated for no reason whatsoever any less painful.

Dr. Hiliruk understood, but Chopper's time with his beloved father was all too short. Dr. Kureha noticed it too, but her response was to try and toughen him up. The world was a cruel place, after all, and that counted double for those who were different. You didn't get much more different than a reindeer with the mind of a human.

Luffy didn't care if his doctor had fur or antlers. He didn't bring Chopper along for his skills alone. He knew Chopper was a monster, but accepted him anyway.

The Straw Hats offered Chopper a soft, safe place for him to grow, both as a doctor and a person. The seas were rough, the challenges almost insurmountable, but Luffy protected Chopper from the brunt of it, simply by virtue of being himself.

It was in this crew full of outlaws and demons Chopper learned what it meant to be truly human, and as he snuggled with his captain after a long, hard day, he knew there was no place he would rather be.


	8. Sanji

At first Sanji was exasperated by it.

Life on the _Going Merry_ was nothing like life on the _Baratie_. Zeff had always shown his displeasure by kicking the crap out of his young charge and shown his love by kicking the crap out of him in such a way he wasn't likely to break his nose. The chefs of the sea were a rough and tumble bunch. Considering their clientele, they had to be.

Luffy wore his heart on his non-existent sleeve. Not that Sanji was any different, but at least he looked cool doing it. But with Luffy there was no posturing, no trying to act tough or manly. He simply acted like himself in a way Sanji never could.

But once he was away from the shitty old man something changed. Sure he spent half his day literally kicking his captain out of his kitchen, but there was no real malice in it. Because Luffy was so free, so open with who he was, Sanji felt like he could do the same. For the first time he could remember, Sanji wasn't a Vinsmoke or Zeff's apprentice or even the assistant head chef. He was Black Leg Sanji, the man who would someday find All Blue, and to his captain, that was all he needed to be.


	9. Luffy

At first Luffy didn't realize it.

He never went out of his way to make people comfortable or uncomfortable. He simply did what he wanted when he wanted to do it, and while Luffy knew this was selfish he didn't really care. If people didn't like him that was their choice. He wasn't going to change who he was to please them.

At the same time, while Luffy could be called many things, unobservant was not one of them. He watched, he judged the situation at hand, and he acted. This battlefield tenant applied just as much to his friends, and it was in that way Luffy displayed his unique, if hidden, genius.

In Zoro Luffy saw a little bit of Ace, someone who felt an almost pathological need to protect, but didn't always know how to be close to others. Sometimes he needed a little (or a not so little) shove to remember that it was okay to have fun.

Sanji was like Sabo, running away from a painful past to find his freedom. Luffy didn't know a lot about his life, but even on the _Baratie_ he could see that the only person holding Sanji back was Sanji.

When Nami got angry, Luffy thought she sounded a lot like Dandan. Like his foster mother, she yelled when she got worried and was more than willing to hit him for his stupidity. Her punches hurt a whole lot worse than Dandan's ever did, but he knew they came from a good place. Plus they both had orange hair, so they even looked the same!

And Usopp…Usopp had more in common with his dad than his ability to snipe. There was no doubt in his mind that he would someday become a brave warrior of the sea.

Chopper reminded Luffy a little of himself when he was young, lonely and desperate for friendship. Luffy hated that feeling more than anything, and was determined that his doctor would never experience it again.

Then there was Robin, whose smile (her real smile, not the fake one she wore most of the time) was just as warm and kind as Makino's. He didn't think anyone who could smile like that could really be a demon.

It was a shame that Franky had never met Gramps, because Luffy thought they would have gotten along great. Both were loud and boisterous and willing to fight anyone at any time, but underneath their hard exteriors was a soft, sentimental heart. Although Luffy was pretty sure they would both hit him if he dared to say so.

And though most would think it was a stretch (there was a joke about him being rubber in there somewhere), Brook reminded Luffy of Shanks. Both liked _Bink's Sake_. Both liked to goof off. Both were willing to laugh at anything, especially themselves. But when push came to shove, both were willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of another's dream, Shanks by giving up his arm for Luffy, Brook by surrendering his pride to give Laboon the message of his old crew.

Yes, Luffy saw, and though he rarely put the pieces together on a conscious level, the same instinct that drove him out to sea drove his interactions with his crew. He learned long ago that he couldn't do anything by himself, but as much as Luffy needed his crew, in the end, they needed him, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's the main cast! I've got bonus chapters coming up (there are 21 chapters of this fic on ff.net) but if you've got any characters you want to see let me know.


	10. Vivi

At first Vivi didn't know what to do with it.

Unlike the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates, she had never been deprived of affection. Her father loved her, the palace staff cared for her, and her friends promised never to leave her side. There was no denying she lived a charmed life, and while there wasn't a spoiled bone in Vivi's body, she was perhaps a little too idealistic and a little too naïve for the harsh, unforgiving world she lived in.

Then the drought came, and everything changed. Kohza became angry and her father distant as they both did everything in their power to keep Alabasta from falling into ruin. Even though Igaram joined her on her mission to infiltrate the mysterious organization known as Baroque Works, the need for secrecy kept them from being friendly with one another.

For the first time in her life, Vivi felt alone and out of her depth, but for two years she struggled onward, the fate of her country resting on her young shoulders.

When Miss All Sunday caused the decoy boat to explode Vivi didn't know how she would find the strength to carry on. The only people on her side was small pirate crew led by a rookie captain that knew less about the seas than she did. She neither knew nor trusted them, but had no choice to sail under their flag.

They arrived at Alabasta as something more than friends. But even as they rushed to stop the rebellion, Luffy didn't seem to understand what they were up against. Vivi was willing to do anything to protect them from getting hurt, but after being forced to stay strong for so long she was starting to fall apart.

When he hit her, Vivi was reminded of Kohza. That short fight in the desert helped her to know in no uncertain terms that her burden was not hers alone, and this time when Luffy said he was going to defeat Crocodile, Vivi couldn't help but believe him.


	11. Jimbe

At first Jimbe was in awe of it.

There was an eerie quiet after the battle for Fishman Island, unlike the marked chaos that punctuated the end of the Summit War. The entire country held its breath as blood flowed from fishman to human in boldfaced defiance to the laws deeply integrated into underwater society.

 _Drip, drip, drip._ The blood that flowed from Jimbe's arm was just as red as what seeped from Straw Hat Luffy's numerous wounds. Not for the first time, Jimbe was forced to wonder how so much senseless hatred came to be. Countless lives had been ruined by it. Too many people had died defending it. His beloved country had almost been lost because of it. A seemingly endless cycle, perpetuated from generation to generation with no end in sight.

He thought both Queen Otohime and Fisher Tiger would have been proud of what happened this day. If nothing else, Jimbe knew he was forever changed. He couldn't force the people let go of a vendetta centuries in the making, but perhaps he could sway them with his example.

In the end, he owed it all to that straw-hatted fool, who was able to overlook his painful experience with Arlong to see fishmen for what they really were. Luffy did not see himself a hero, but no ordinary man would go to such lengths to save a mermaid from the auction house, and even fewer who would openly defy the Celestial Dragons for the sake of a fishman who was once an enemy. And none, save for Whitebeard before him, ever dared to swear an oath of protection without expecting anything in return.

Jimbe had seen Luffy at his best and at his worst. He could hardly believe the young, contented pirate lying beside him was the same one who had seen his brother die. A lesser man would have broken by such an experience, but Luffy emerged from it stronger than ever before.

For both of them the work was not yet finished. One Piece was still out there for the taking, and Jimbe was determined to champion the cause Queen Otohime and Fisher Tiger died for. Neither could stay on Fishman Island. Not with so much that needed done.

 _Drip, drip, drip_. Jimbe closed his eyes as a slow, wide smile stretched across his face. It would take a little time to get his affairs in order, but he would be honored to someday call Monkey D. Luffy _captain_.


	12. Law

At first Law didn't expect it.

He had spent thirteen years of his life crafting a distant, cruel persona that, over time, almost consumed him. He had one goal, and everything he did centered around furthering The Plan. Even his crew, who knew that he didn't rearrange bodies and steal hearts for shits and giggles, didn't know what he was trying to do. It was safer—for them and for Law—to keep them at a distance. If his enemies knew just how much the Heart Pirates meant to him…

The thought alone made Law shudder.

This left him with a dilemma. He refused to send his crew out on what could quickly become a suicide mission, not when they had trusted him to lead them through the Grand Line. At the same time, Law knew he couldn't win this battle by himself. He needed allies. Strong allies that could prick and prod at Doflamingo enough to draw him out of his stronghold.

Monkey D. Luffy was the easy choice. The stunt he pulled at the auction house proved his reputation for recklessness was well-deserved. The close bond he shared with his crew ensured they would follow him to the deepest hell. His middle initial marked him as one of god's natural enemies.

What Law didn't consider, what he _couldn't_ have predicted from their few interactions together, was Straw Hat Luffy's response. They were both Supernovas, supposedly rivals, but with one simple agreement they became more than allies. Against all common sense and Law's better judgement, Monkey D. Luffy was now his friend. Having the Straw Hat's doctor tied to his head was only the beginning of something that was either the best thing that had happened to him since Corazon's death or a waking nightmare that would never end. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced it was the latter.

God help them all. They were doomed.


	13. Betham

At first Betham was indebted to it.

As time passed he had a difficult time remembering why exactly he joined Baroque Works. Orchestrating hostile coups wasn't really he style, and considering the outcome Betham couldn't help but be a little ashamed of the part he'd played in the Alabastian rebellion. He vowed that he would make it up to Straw Hat if it was the last thing he ever did. And, as it turned out, it almost was.

He'd been lied to, of course. Crocodile built his company on a bedrock of lies and manipulation, and he'd known just what to say to get Betham's attention. In retrospect, 'utopia' was a meaningless word that could have meant anything. To him, it meant equality, a world where a person could be whatever they wanted to be without shame. Even if he pretended otherwise, it was a hard world for people like him, people who had the audacity to be different.

Crocodile sold his story well. Among the officers were a foul-mouthed mole woman, a stupid giant and his pet dog-gun, a egomaniac artist, his rather scatter-brained partner, a bartender who liked to dress like a dominatrix on her days off, and a dull, boorish brute devoid of any sense of humor. They were a diverse bunch, and so long as they did their jobs they were treated well, paid handsomely, and promoted higher up into the company.

Betham allowed himself to be drawn to his mysterious boss's vision without looking too deeply into it. In reality they were chosen only for their ability, and every time they came together they fought like cats and dogs. There was no acceptance, only the fear of failure. Betham allowed himself think he would have wondered what utopia would treat people so cruelly.

But Straw Hat...Straw Hat was not that way. Their friendship was quickly formed but no less strong for it. The cook's choice to spare his life when Betham would not have done the same was ultimately a reflection on Luffy. When they were reunited in Impel Down, the tears of joy they both wept were genuine and the fierceness of their embrace like nothing Betham had never known.

It took a remarkable man to beg for the life a friend while they were dying themselves. Betham owed Luffy everything, and that was a debt he would not easily forget.

 


	14. Ace

At first Ace couldn't accept it.

It was hard believing that you had the right to be born when everyone around you said otherwise. There were so many people in the world who hated Gol D. Roger, multitudes who would have killed him for the crime of existing, that it didn't matter what Luffy or Gramps or anyone in Fushia said. The few positive voices in his life were drowned out by the sea of hatred, and for a long time all Ace wanted to do was hate them back.

In a way, Luffy saved him, though Ace rarely thought of it that way, and when he did he never said so out loud lest his weak, crybaby brother got a big head. Family was the one thing Ace craved, and it was what Luffy offered, wholly and unconditionally. Blood didn't matter, at least not to them, and Ace's sense of self-worth was bolstered by looking out for someone who so obviously needed his protection. As the years passed he transformed from an angry, almost savage child into a polite, well-mannered young man ready to set out to sea on his own terms and in his own way.

Whitebeard only completed the process that began with Luffy and Sabo. It wasn't until he was stuck in the bottom of Impel Down with entirely too much time on his hands (yet somehow, not enough time at all) that the old fears came creeping back. The bastardly traitor Teach managed to rip open a wound he thought had healed, and once again he found himself wondering if he weren't better off having never been born.

That question was answered once and for all during the Battle of Marineford, and though he was in terrible agony Ace was able to give his brother one last embrace with a smile on his face. Luffy wasn't so little any more, and no longer needed his protection. As much as Ace hated his father and all that he stood for, he looked forward to the day his brother would become the Pirate King. Ace didn't know where he was going after this, but when that time came he wasn't going to let a little thing like Death from stopping him from celebrating together like they always had: as brothers.


	15. Sabo

At first Sabo didn't deserve it.

That's what he thought, anyway. He'd been absent from his brothers' lives for more than a decade, and so much had changed. Ace was dead and Luffy had transformed himself from a crybaby weakling into one of the most feared rookies in the world. Sabo didn't feel like he had the right to be a part of their story, and he was afraid of what Luffy would say if they ever reunited. Would he blame Sabo for what happened to Ace? The young revolutionary couldn't fault him if he did, not when there wasn't a day that went by when he didn't blame himself.

He never did get around to telling Nico Robin about his connection to her captain. Maybe it was the coward's way out, but he didn't want her to know. Sabo sort of...stalked her instead, absorbing every detail the frustratingly taciturn archaeologist was willing to divulge and grilling Koala for any scrap of information he might have missed. If they thought he was acting weird, they had the decency not to say it, and every story made Sabo's heart swell with pride.

When the Revolution got word of Doflamingo's little tournament there was no questioning his course of action. Sabo went to Dressrosa knowing there was a good chance he would once again be reunited with his little brother, and an unfamiliar course of nerves shivered down his spine. He wanted to see Luffy so badly it hurt, but what if Luffy did not want to see him?

Sabo needn't have worried, and he couldn't help but laugh with joy as he wrapped his little brother in a tight embrace that was eagerly reciprocated. Some things never changed, and it seemed like Luffy had a little cry baby left in him after all.

 


	16. Hancock

At first Hancock hated it.

She knew how men touched. They either caused pain for others or stole pleasure for themselves, and in her experience both were often done simultaneously. Hancock rose above them by being crueler, harsher, more brutal than her male counterparts. The World Government feared her name, which was ironic considering how much she feared them. At any time her shame could be exposed, and if her subjects ever found out...

They could never find out.

Hancock walked on the edge of a knife, but with power came arrogance and at times she deluded herself about her own situation. It wasn't until Monkey D. Luffy covered the back of her sister that she remembered what it was like to be completely at the mercy of another, but unlike every man she had ever met he expected nothing in return for his unexpected generosity.

Luffy did not want to touch her in the way men touched women, and that was one of the reasons Hancock loved him. In the fleeting, too short time they shared together he looked at her not as on object but an equal, saw that her true beauty was in her strength, and held none of it against her like so many did, as if it were somehow her fault that she was their superior.

And maybe she hadn't yet won his affections, but every King needed a Queen and the Empress of Amazon Lily stood ready and waiting for when that moment came. She would do everything in her power to ensure Luffy happy and well. Risking everything she'd ever worked for to return to the last place she ever wanted to see again was nothing; love was a hurricane, and she wouldn't let anything stand in her way.


	17. Bartolomeo

At first Bartolomeo couldn't contain it.

Bartolomeo traveled from the East Blue to the New World just to see him, entered the tournament just to speak to him, and fought against one of the most dreaded pirate families of the age just to earn his respect. He never in a million years guessed that he would someday be a part of the Straw Hat's grand fleet or that his most treasured possessions in the world would be the autograph of Monkey D. Luffy himself. Fans were a dime a dozen, but in the two years since Marineford Barolomeo somehow managed to transcend them all to become a worthy pirate of his own.

The greatest thing about Luffy wasn't his Devil Fruit or his charisma. Haki, even the King's Disposition, was not what drew people to him. No, Luffy couldn't care less about any of that. What truly set him apart from the rest was how he inspired others to follow their own dreams, whatever they were. He enabled everyone he met to live the life that they wanted, even if the world said that was something they shouldn't be allowed to have.

No matter what happened in the future, Bartolomeo would always consider the pinnacle of his career the moment Straw Hat Luffy found him worthy enough to share the sake cup with him. The occasion was so momentous that he willed himself not to faint when he accidentally brushed against his idol's coat. It was the ultimate validation, the proof that everything he'd done thus far had been worth it, and he was determined not to waste the opportunity he'd so graciously been given.

With autographs in tow, Bartolomeo set off to continue his adventure. Maybe someday he'd have the chance to complete his collection. Until then, he would keep on being a pirate worthy of the title "Second Division Commander of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet".


	18. Dandan

At first Dandan resented it.

Ace she could handle. The kid was an antisocial punk who was likely to kill someone before he turned thirteen, but at least he could fend for himself and was always good to put food on the table. Dandan was perfectly capable of ignoring his surly moods, the sudden bursts of temper, the disappearing for days on end. That was fine. The less she saw of the little beast the better.

Luffy - bless his idiotic little soul - was a nuisance.

He was weak. He never shut up about his dislike for mountain bandits. He had no concept of personal space. He was, in short, annoying, and Dandan was at her wits end. Not a day went by when she didn't curse both Garp and her bad luck for dumping her with two, and with the later addition of Sabo, _three_ of the most irksome, rowdy, troublemakers the world had ever seen.

But, damn it all, they were _her_ troublemakers, and it wasn't just the fear of Garp's wrath that drove her into that fire to save those boys. Dandan cried privately when she heard Sabo died, and she cried publicly when Ace finally set out on his journey. That left three years alone with Monkey D. Luffy himself. And while deep, deep, _deep_ in the darkest cockles of her heart she cared for the brat, that didn't mean that there weren't days that she wanted to throttle him.

Luffy was neither well-spoken like Sabo nor strong like Ace, but during moments of reflection Dandan wondered if there wasn't a chance he would someday be the Pirate King. Luffy changed people. By sheer determination and tenacity he made Ace act like a normal kid, made Garp act like an almost normal grandfather, and made Dandan care about a wretched little snot who wasn't worth a bag of rocks.

Dandan cried when Luffy left, and she cried again when Ace died. After two years and one glorious resurgence later, she resolved that the next time she shed tears it would be because Monkey D. Luffy had become the King of the Pirates.


	19. Shanks

At first Shanks was amused by it.

He had always been a fan of a good joke, and there was nothing funnier than the grandson of Monkey D. Garp being dead-set on becoming a pirate. Shanks remembered the days when the lauded Hero of the Marines chased Roger to hell and back, and thought the whole thing was karmatic justice at its finest.

There was no doubting the kid had spirit. It took guts - and a bit of stupidity - to stab yourself in the face. If Luffy were a little bit older Shanks would have entertained the idea of letting him tag along. There was no harm in it, and if Garp really wanted the kid to be a marine he would have left him on Mariejois. Alas, Luffy's opinions notwithstanding, Shanks _did_ have standards, and seven years old was much too young to be out on the high seas.

Never was Luffy's youth more apparent than when the bandits attacked. Shanks wasn't above eating a little crow to keep the peace on one of his favorite islands, but everything changed when Higuma kidnapped Luffy. The bastard had taken a disagreement between grown men and gotten children involved. Not just any child, _Luffy_ who was beginning to remind Shanks more and more of himself at that age.

There were questions, of course. Even his crew wondered how a veteran of the Grand Line could have lost his arm to such a pitiful monster. Without being there they couldn't have known the paralizing fear, the realization that excessive force was just as likely to hurt Luffy as the beast, the split-second of peace before the jaws came crashing down.

Shanks was a firm believer that things usually worked themselves out in the end. He was just as capable of fighting with one arm as two, and as a result of Higuma's attack Luffy made the decision to step out of his idol's shadow and go his own way. It was the first step of a long, arduous journey, but every legend had to start somewhere.

The path Luffy chose was difficult, the seas rough and pitted with loss and hardship, but Shanks looked forward to the day when Straw Hat Luffy would finally give him his hat back, only for it to be exchanged for a crown.


	20. Dragon

At first Dragon didn't want it.

These were tumultuous times, and Dragon aspired to make them even more so. The danger was tenfold to all those who inherited the Will of D. The gods of this world would strike him down if given half a chance, and Dragon's enemies would not hesitate to use his infant son against him.

Dragon was not meant for fatherhood, but, like his father before him, had sired a child anyway. Now that the deed was done and the baby born there was nothing Dragon could do but accept what the winds of fate had in store. Even if it put everything he was fighting for at risk.

The baby was a squirmy little thing, full of life and vitality that hopefully would carry him through life. A strong instinct that Dragon never would have expected from himself demanded that he do everything in his power to keep his son safe, while the cool, logical side of him knew that there was no safety for any of his blood. Not in this world.

"I will change it," Dragon whispered to his one and only child. "I will fight for your freedom."

Because even though he had not wanted it, Luffy was his, and that changed _everything_. He was no longer striving for some abstract goal, but his son's future. Some might think it cruel to abandon his child so shortly after he entered the world, and maybe it was, but that didn't make it any less necessary.

Even those who knew him best never understood why Dragon stared out across the eastern horizon whenever he had the chance, and he never bothered to correct their misguided assumptions. He knew that his son was out there, waiting, and he looked forward to the day when they would once again meet face to face.


	21. Garp

At first Garp was ashamed of it.

Maybe ashamed wasn't the right word. Certainly Garp didn't regret, resent, or despise the existence of his grandsons. There were, however, certain implications surrounding their births that could not be ignored. And maybe implications wasn't right, either - _consequences_ fit a little better, but that would mean acknowledging the fact that the powers that be were willing to kill children too young to decided right or wrong for themselves. 

Garp had once argued that if crime did indeed run in the family then the World Government should just kill him where he stood. After all, who but the worst of sinners could sire the greatest criminal of the age? Of course his argument was ignored, as all logic was when used against hypocritical, elitist, downright crazy ideology.

Luffy would never know how much he broke his grandfather's heart the first time he said he was going to be a pirate. He would never know the gut-wrenching pain when Garp found out the little punk had actually gone out to sea. He would never know the anguish of being forced to fight his own flesh and blood, knowing beyond any doubt that he was in the wrong.

Then again, Luffy might never know how proud Garp was when he faced his adversaries head-on, never once wavering in his convictions, never once yielding to those who would destroy him. Never once sacrificing his beliefs, ostensibly for some greater good, but in reality because he didn't know any other way.

The same couldn't be said for Garp.

Never had a punch to the face felt so good, and as Luffy rushed past with not even a glance for his fallen grandfather, Garp couldn't help but hope that maybe, just this once, the justice of the marines would fall.

Certainly Garp had failed, and now his family was fractured beyond repair. Luckily he had never been one to hold to that heredity nonsense, and he could look forward as Luffy forged his own way, free of the shadows that plagued his grandfather's past. Despite everything Garp had to be ashamed of in life, he had at least managed to teach Luffy that much. His grandson was a notorious pirate and a thorn in the side of the World Government, his mortal enemy, and yet...

Garp smiled as he slipped into unconsciousness. He'd done his part. Now it was up to Luffy to figure out the rest.


End file.
